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CHAPTER 9:
I'm fucked. Literally. Six days since my case has been filed by Child Protective Services and my name has been in all the music magazines and tabloids with headlines reading 'Rambunctious Rocker Files Suit Against Parents.' To top it all off, the articles always contain pictures of me smoking, drinking, or in handcuffs. I'm coming off looking like an out-of-control asshole and a majority of adults are siding with my parents. Letters have been coming in left and right to Horizon from parents who are worried that their children, my fans, are going to be scarred by this. This makes me laugh. Are they the ones getting roughed up by my parents? Most of the bands we've toured with are looking out for me and have my back and are commenting to the media, though, and I'm grateful.
My publicist is flying out today to set the record straight. We're going to drive into Seattle to hold a conference and I'm freaking the hell out here. Not only do I have to do a press conference, but I have to do it without my band. It doesn't help that news has spread like wildfire around Horizon and everybody but the Cliffhangers are being real dicks about it. Peter's hands are full making sure that nobody creeps onto camp to try and get some pictures of me or anything and he's astounded by the way the media is handling it. I don't brag about the popularity of my band Polaris but we really do have quite a following. It's not like the paparazzi follows us around or anything like that, but our actions do make the news upon occasion.
"Check it out! Celebrity coming through," I hear somebody yell as I step into the lodge.
Rolling my eyes, I take a seat next to Ezra who raises his eyebrows and tries not to laugh. He asks if someone of my status minds sitting next to the likes of him and I punch him lightly on the arm.
"Hey sugar," I hear a familiar voice say behind me.
Instantly, I jump up and come face to face with my publicist. She hugs me tightly and compliments how much better I look. Introductions are made all around and Jane spins me around with a frown on her face.
"Those clothes will not do. Where is the wildchild we all know and love?"
I shrug and say this is what we wear here at Horizon and Jane scolds me. She passes me some clothes that Madison probably picked out and shoos me away to change. When I emerge, I'm wearing a pair of tight Levi's with a few holes, a form-fitting button up, and a pair of pumas; nothing fancy but more my style. These clothes are banned to me at Horizon because they fit the "image" that brought me here. Jane reveals three hemp bracelets that Jason, Madison, and Drake made and I slip them on happily. Auggie whistles at my outfit and I wink at him.
"Almost ready," Jane compliments.
She pulled out a navy and white bandana and tied it around my head. The bandana has been my trademark since I've been about eleven years old in bands. It's what I'm known for and I've never played a show without it. Even though we weren't playing, Jane knew that it would make me feel better about everything. Horizon didn't allow the bandana due to gangs' use of them, but I started wearing it to keep my hair out of my face and it kinda stuck after that.
"Now all you need is a cigarette and you're the kid we know and love," Jane says in her husky voice.
Jane Goldstat is one of the best publicists in the industry. She'd worked with a lot of popular bands in the seventies and eighties but decided she was sick of the lifestyle and took a hiatus. Then she heard us and threw herself back into the business. She grabbed a Parliament out of her bag and handed it to me.
"Can't smoke on the grounds," I told her.
Jane laughed at this and clapped me on the back, whispering quite loudly that we were going to get loaded on the way back from the interview. I stared at the ground and didn't answer. I'd sworn to myself that I wasn't going to quit the lifestyle I once lived because I got sent here, but imagining the look on Peter's face when I got back was making me question my behavior for tonight. Jane took this all in stride and tucked the cigarette behind my ear and looked around to really take the place in. One thing was clear about all of this; my two worlds do not fit in here. My life at Horizon is very different than my life on the road. Still, it only seemed to affect the adults in my life. Peter and Sophie are glaring at Jane likes she's the enemy or something. They're scared what I'm going to do as soon as I step off these grounds and the funny thing is I don't even know.
"Are Drake, Jason, and Madison gunna be there today?" I ask my publicist hopefully.
Jane looked at me sadly before responding.
"You know they can't be, honey. The judge said you can't have any physical contact with any of them until your time is served. I'm sorry, baby. I know you must miss them."
Jane could tell how pissed I was getting by how much shorter my breaths were getting. She put a hand lightly on my shoulder and talked to me in a low voice. Scott came over and lightly grabbed my hand, but I pushed him away and he looked at me in confusion.
"This is fucking bullshit. Get me out of this place," I snarl as I exit the lodge but not before tipping a chair for good measure.
Peter is yelling at me to stop but Jane and I are walking at a fast pace and sped out of the school before he could even teach our car. Right now, I didn't want to talk about my feelings with the Cliffhangers and all of that shit. All I wanted to do was get as far away from the school that was keeping me away from my best friends. Seattle was only an hour drive and it passed before I knew it. The cigarette is still lodged behind my ear and Jane commented that I hadn't smoked once through the whole journey. I'm known as the smoke fiend of our band so Jane was astounded at this.
"Let's just do this interview," I said.
The interview went pretty much as planned. I explained that the rumors about me filing a suit against my parents were true and I asked for privacy in the matter. Then, I answered some questions about where I've been the last month and a half and discussed the new album that we were going to be recording once I got out. All in all, the interview went well and I was pleased that I wasn't too bombarded with questions. There were more reporters there than I would have thought, but I guess all the music mags wanted the scoop. Some snapshots were taken and it was weird to pose without my bandmates. In nervousness, I lit up a cigarette and felt the cameras go off even more. Oh well, it's a known fact that I smoke so whatever. The nicotine felt good as we stepped out into the Seattle streets. A few fans were waiting to talk to me and I walked over to the teenagers. I posed for a few of their pictures and signed some stuff before Jane ushered me into the car.
"I miss hanging out with the fans," I say, grinning from my encounter with them.
One thing I love about being a young musician is hanging out with the teenagers that come to our show. They're all amazing kids and I consider many of them friends. Jane smirked at this and saw that I was being more myself. I'm not good at staying pissed off. Instead, I usually cause a quick scene and then it's over. She ducked into a liquor store and grabbed a bottle of Jack. She opened it and chugged it for a few seconds and I remember all the times that I've done the same thing. When the bottle was passed to me, I pushed it back. One rule I have with drinking and drugs is that I never do it when I'm upset. I'll be damned if I'll ever become my parents. Jane shrugged and continued to drink throughout the entire journey. We pulled into Horizon just after six and the Cliffhangers were sitting on a picnic table enjoying the warm dusk weather. Jane wasn't in the best state to drive and crashes into the parking curb as we pull into the spot. I wasn't wearing my seatbelt and hit my head hard against the window shield. I laughed it off and rubbed my forehead where a small bump is forming.
"Nice park job!" I yelled jokingly.
Jane went into a state of chaos and dragged me out of the car to start inspecting my head.
"LJ will kill me if I fucked your head up," She said frightfully.
Laughing, I tell her I'm fine and that she just misjudged her driving a little bit. No one else takes it as lightly as I am, though. Peter pulls me away from Jane like she has the plague or something. Struggling against his grip, I try to get back to her but Peter won't let me. Calmly, he tells Sophie to take Jane to the infirmary to get sober and I stopped writhing around in shock. Peter then looks to me and softly says that he can't allow Jane to visit any more.
"It's my job to protect you, Zane," Peter said sadly as he rubbed his hand over the bump on my head, "And for some reason I keep letting people in here that hurt you. I'm sorry."
My heart was in my throat as Peter said this.
"Jane doesn't hurt me," I reply.
"Yes she does. You just don't realize it."
I bit my lip and wondered what in the hell he meant by that. Auggie put a comforting hand on my shoulder and I watched as Peter grabbed the bottle of liquor from the car and dumped it in the dirt. Then I understood.
END OF CHAPTER.
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